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Beom Sook led his half of the children to their new residence.  The older girls and their siblings had come with him.  He had his servants set up two tubs in two different rooms so that the girls could bathe separately from the boys. 

Once they were all clean, he led them to the bedrooms.  For now, he had decided to give each family a separate bedroom.  Except for the children who had no siblings.  The three boys would share one room and the two girls another.  Ten bedrooms had been filled with children.  Who had no belongings. 

Beom Sook would need to see about getting them some new clothes.  Ae Ri had managed to scrounge together enough used robes to dress them all.  And Dan O had somehow provided clean undergarments for them all.  But Beom Sook wanted each child to have at least two sets of clean clothes so that they could wear one while the other was being washed.

He waited patiently for Ni Na to arrive with the other children.  Beom Sook watched as the children exclaimed over their new residence.  Wide-eyed with wonder, they walked through his house, examining the furnishings and decorations.  Beautiful urns and vases could be found in each room.  But the children seemed most delighted by their own spaces.  Each seemed to find the simple bedrooms to be a luxurious home indeed.

But the eldest girl, Na Mi, finally turned towards him as he passed her bedchamber and called out, “Where is our classroom going to be?”

“Hmm.  Why don’t you come with me?  I have two larger rooms.  You can tell me which one befits the girls.”

She stepped out into the corridor with him, following him to the first room.  It was slightly smaller than the second.  After perusing them both, she chose the smaller of the two rooms.

“Boys need room to move around.  Besides, there are more tiny girls than boys.  The boys will definitely take up more space.”  She seemed to sober instantly.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her.

“It’s nothing,” she whispered and turned away from him.  “I’m going back to my room.  Thank you for this.  All of this.”

But he could feel her sorrow still filling up the room even as she walked out of it.

He was tempted to follow her, but just then Ni Na’s delighted voice reached him.  And his heart rose.

“Beom Sook!  This home is perfect!”

He turned to smile at her.  “You like it?” he murmured as he took in her exuberant demeanor.

She bobbed her head.

He noticed the clean, freshly dressed group of young people behind her.  Their eyes were as wide as those from his group had been a few minutes ago. 

“Would you like me to show you to your bedchambers?” he asked them after they’d had a chance to look around the large room into which they had just entered.

Nodding, they followed him.  Soon, all of the children were lying flat on their beds.

“I think,” Ni Na whispered from one doorway as she pivoted to face the young lord, “that they are all exhausted.”  Turning back towards them, she suggested, “Why don’t you all enjoy a little nap while Lord Lee and I work on arranging dinner for you?”

Pretty much all of the children agreed to this arrangement.  Ni Na followed Beom Sook back down the hallway. 

“The bedchambers are wonderful.  Can I see the classrooms now?”

He nodded and continued walking until they again reached the room in which they had first met. 

“Oh! she exclaimed.  “This is one of the classrooms!?  It’s perfect.”  She frowned.  “Of course, it will need several more tables and chairs.  But I think this will work just splendidly.”  Her smile broke forth once again.

He grinned at her.  “Would you like to see the girls’ classroom?”

“The girls’ classroom?”  Ni Na glanced up into his eyes. 

He bobbed his head.  “Yes, Na Mi named this the boys’ classroom because it’s bigger, and boys need more space.”  He flashed his gorgeous grin at her again.

She quirked one elegant eyebrow.  “Is that what she said?”

“Definitely.”  His smile faded as his face grew somber.

Ni Na furrowed her brow.  “What’s wrong?”

He shook his head.  “I don’t know.  After she said that, Na Mi shut down.  She was…sad about something, but she wouldn’t tell me what.  She insisted on going back to her room then.”

Soberly, Ni Na inhaled.  “Those children have suffered a lot.  Witnessing the death of their parents…and possibly…their siblings?  They have much to be sad about.  Last summer wasn’t long ago, and they have gone through so much since then simply trying to survive.  I wonder why the other adults in the village didn’t take them in.  Unless…”

“…none of them survived.”

She winced.  “It is possible.”  She closed her eyes.

“What’s the matter, Ni Na?”

Her eyes fluttered open, and he realized that they were flooding with tears now.  “Have I taken on too much, Beom Sook?  Is it possible to help these children?  To give them a real chance to succeed in life?  Or am I just kidding myself?”

“Ni Na,” he breathed quietly.  He stepped forward and cradled her upper arms with his palms.  He peered down into her beautiful face.  “You have not taken on too much.  You are already helping them.  Did you not see their excitement over their bedrooms?  And the idea of another good meal?”

She gave him a flimsy smile. 

“And you’re not alone in this endeavor.  I will walk through every step of it with you.”

“Will you, Beom Sook?  Truly?”  She gazed up at him hopefully.

And he knew in that moment that he would attempt to fly to the moon if she asked it of him.

“Mmm,” he nodded his head.

And was rewarded by a massive smile.  “I do adore you, Beom Sook!”

Then she surprised him by throwing her arms around him and pressing her face against his chest.  And inhaling the wonderful smell of honey again.  She breathed it in for a few moments as his arms surrounded her and drew her even closer.  He bent his head and buried his nose in her hair.  After a few quiet moments, she suggested something. 

“Beom Sook, maybe you could teach some of the children how to raise bees.”

“Ah, my dear, you wish me to create more beekeepers.”

She glanced up at him.  “Just think.  They could make a lot of silver off the nobility by supplying them with honey.”

He nodded.  “It’s true.  I know many who spend good silver on premium honey.  A most excellent notion, Ni Na!” he praised her.

And she felt oddly…appreciated.

After a moment, he released her.  But he missed the aching expression of disappointment that instantly flooded her countenance.

––

Na Mi and her best friend, Sae Bit, peeked around the doorway at the two adults.

“Psst,” Na Mi hissed as she eyed the young couple standing together at the head of the classroom.  “I think that Lord Lee is in love with our fair teacher, don’t you?”

Sae Bit bobbed her head.  “I think so too.  And Choi Ni Na is clearly head over heels for him.  But…”

“…she doesn’t think that he loves her,” Na Mi finished her thought.

“Exactly!”  Sae Bit’s eyes grew wide.  “But it’s so obvious.  How can she be so blind?”

“How can they both be so blind?”

The two girls melted back down the hallway.

Sae Bit eyed her friend.  “I know that look.  You’re hatching a plan.”

“Aren’t I always?” Na Mi responded blithely.

“Yes, you are.” 

Sae Bit had never not known her friend to have a plan.  The eldest girl was the reason that they were all still alive.  Her quick thinking had rescued them from more than one pitfall.  And put food on their table.  Time and again.

“It’s just…look at how wonderful they’ve both been to all of us today.  We’ve been going without for months.  And no one has cared.  Yet Saem stole some silver from the woman, and instead of having her caned, she fed us, housed us, clothed us, and wants to teach us!  I think the least that we can do is to…help her…and him.   Don’t you?”

She did indeed.

The only question was: in what form would their help materialize?

––

Her arms full of more robes, Ae Ri stopped by a few minutes later.  Lord Lee Beom Sook welcomed her into the sitting room and collected the garments from her. 

“Thank you so much, Sung Ae Ri,” he bowed gallantly to her.  Then he headed for the children’s rooms as she greeted her best friend.

“Ni Na!  I have some wonderful news!”

“Yes?”  Ni Na smiled at her friend’s exuberantly cheerful demeanor.

“I have found another set of houseparents for you!”

“What?!” she gasped.

The other girl bobbed her head enthusiastically.  “While I was collecting old robes, I spoke with Lady Kim Tae Hoon.  She was very curious about why I needed the robes.  So I told her.  And she was instantly taken by your compassion.  She said that she wanted to help.  Then she explained that she has two elderly servants who are nearing retirement.  She thought that perhaps they would enjoy living here.”

“And being in charge of twenty-four lively children?” Ni Na asked doubtfully.

“That’s what I thought too.  But she had them brought to her sitting room while I was there.  And asked me to explain your mission to them.  Then she asked them if they’d be willing to watch over the kids a few nights a week while you and Lord Lee return home in the evenings.”

Ni Na was on the edge of her seat.  Or she would have been had she been sitting down.  “Well, what did they say?”

“They were both excited about it.  Then the woman – her name is So Yi – admitted to me that she had always wanted children but hadn’t been blessed with any.  She said that they would love the opportunity to love on these children.”

“That’s…remarkable.”  Ni Na’s brow burst into two deep ravines.

“If it’s so remarkable, why are you frowning?”

“It’s just that…I wonder how long they’ll feel that way.  Surely, caring for two dozen children is a lot of work.”

“But, really, you and Lord Lee are doing the hard work.  Educating them.  All they’ll have to do is oversee baths and sleep time.”

Ni Na nodded.  “If they can help too, perhaps Auntie Dan O and Chung will be more willing to cover the other nights now.”

“That’s what I thought too!”

“When she returns, I will speak with her.”

“It looks like this really is going to work out after all,” Ae Ri murmured.

“We shall see.  We shall see,” Ni Na replied a little dubiously.  But she fervently hoped so.